4A: Forming an Opportunity Belief
1) Beginning Point: I believe an opportunity exists where UF can speed up the process for students who are looking for parking on campus.
2) Belief: This need comes from the amount of time students spend in their cars, trying to find a parking spot on campus that is close to libraries or popular meeting areas. This could be met by having an electronic billboard at the entrance of each parking garage or parking lot on campus that allows students to see how many parking spots are available for students. This would be very helpful for students who come to campus after the parking restrictions are lifted (typically after 4:30pm). This has always been needed and this need is being met at the Reitz Union, which has one of these for its parking garage for its visitors, so the same idea could be extended to many popular parking lots/garages on campus. I would say there is about a 75% chance the opportunity is available.
3) Prototypical Customer: A prototypical customer would be anyone who has difficulty finding parking on campus, specifically UF students.
4) Iteration: For my interviews, I chose 3 UF students that own cars and park on campus. Below is their iterations of each interview.
Student 1:
What is the nature of this need?
An efficient way to find parking on campus.
When do you experience this need?
When I need to come to campus after 5 o'clock and the bus stops running.
How long have you had this need? When did you first become aware of this need?
For a while now. Parking is extremely difficult to find because the parking spots are not even close to the prime locations where students typically are.
How are you currently addressing this need? How satisfied with the solution?
I just parking in Broward parking garage because even though that parking garage is far, I know there is always spots available on the top floors so I just don't waste my time anymore. I'm not really satisfied with the solution, but I can't really do anything about it. I'm tired of sitting in my car for 15 minutes everyday wasting time when I know what the result is going to be.
Student 2:
What is the nature of this need?
A faster way to find parking on campus.
When do you experience this need?
I experience this need when I drive my car to campus for organization meetings or if I need to study at the library.
How long have you had this need? When did you first become aware of this need?
This issue has been going on for 3 years. I noticed it when I first became a freshman who lived on campus. There was some parking behind my dorm but it was very limited so it was always first come, first serve. And when I took my car off-campus and came back, it was a risk because someone could always take my spot and I would have to park a mile away and walk back to my dorm.
How are you currently addressing this need? How satisfied with the solution?
I'm kind of avoiding the problem. I just hope and pray that I find a spot so I'm not late to wherever I'm going.
Student 3:
What is the nature of this need?
Finding a parking spot faster on campus so I save time.
When do you experience this need?
When I can't take the bus and need to use my car to come to campus so I can use the libraries to study or one of the classrooms for an exam or meeting.
How long have you had this need? When did you first become aware of this need?
Around the time of my junior year, when I first brought a car to Gainesville. That was the first year I lived off-campus and needed a car because the bus may stop running sometimes and I didn't realize that finding a parking spot was such a battle until I had to face it myself. I had friends complain about it but I always thought they were exaggerating, but no. It's a real issue.
How are you currently addressing this need? How satisfied with the solution?
Currently, I am planning an extra 10 minutes of time to my schedule if I have an exam or important meetings to attend to I can arrive on time and finding parking won't mess with that. I'm not really satisfied with the solution because it can sometimes be inconvenient if I have things back to back around the same time, but at different places.
5) Reflection: When interviewing the 3 potential users, I understood the situation from their point of views. Each person expressed their struggle against finding parking on campus and how they must plan for it in their schedule i.e. when they should leave their home so they can come to campus and have enough time to find parking and make it on time for their meetings or events. There would be some downfalls to it, such as finding funding for these signs and routine maintenance so it functions properly 24/7.
6) Summary: Now, I believe there is about a 50% opportunity for this need to be met. After conducting these interviews, I have realized that this opportunity is needed more but the challenges posed to get these electronic signs are bigger than what I thought. I think it's important for entrepreneurs to adjust according to customer feedback because they will be the ones using the product, but also keep the adjustments within the scope of what your product truly is, down to the originality. The product should meet the needs of the consumers in an efficient and effective way.
2) Belief: This need comes from the amount of time students spend in their cars, trying to find a parking spot on campus that is close to libraries or popular meeting areas. This could be met by having an electronic billboard at the entrance of each parking garage or parking lot on campus that allows students to see how many parking spots are available for students. This would be very helpful for students who come to campus after the parking restrictions are lifted (typically after 4:30pm). This has always been needed and this need is being met at the Reitz Union, which has one of these for its parking garage for its visitors, so the same idea could be extended to many popular parking lots/garages on campus. I would say there is about a 75% chance the opportunity is available.
3) Prototypical Customer: A prototypical customer would be anyone who has difficulty finding parking on campus, specifically UF students.
4) Iteration: For my interviews, I chose 3 UF students that own cars and park on campus. Below is their iterations of each interview.
Student 1:
What is the nature of this need?
An efficient way to find parking on campus.
When do you experience this need?
When I need to come to campus after 5 o'clock and the bus stops running.
How long have you had this need? When did you first become aware of this need?
For a while now. Parking is extremely difficult to find because the parking spots are not even close to the prime locations where students typically are.
How are you currently addressing this need? How satisfied with the solution?
I just parking in Broward parking garage because even though that parking garage is far, I know there is always spots available on the top floors so I just don't waste my time anymore. I'm not really satisfied with the solution, but I can't really do anything about it. I'm tired of sitting in my car for 15 minutes everyday wasting time when I know what the result is going to be.
Student 2:
What is the nature of this need?
A faster way to find parking on campus.
When do you experience this need?
I experience this need when I drive my car to campus for organization meetings or if I need to study at the library.
How long have you had this need? When did you first become aware of this need?
This issue has been going on for 3 years. I noticed it when I first became a freshman who lived on campus. There was some parking behind my dorm but it was very limited so it was always first come, first serve. And when I took my car off-campus and came back, it was a risk because someone could always take my spot and I would have to park a mile away and walk back to my dorm.
How are you currently addressing this need? How satisfied with the solution?
I'm kind of avoiding the problem. I just hope and pray that I find a spot so I'm not late to wherever I'm going.
Student 3:
What is the nature of this need?
Finding a parking spot faster on campus so I save time.
When do you experience this need?
When I can't take the bus and need to use my car to come to campus so I can use the libraries to study or one of the classrooms for an exam or meeting.
How long have you had this need? When did you first become aware of this need?
Around the time of my junior year, when I first brought a car to Gainesville. That was the first year I lived off-campus and needed a car because the bus may stop running sometimes and I didn't realize that finding a parking spot was such a battle until I had to face it myself. I had friends complain about it but I always thought they were exaggerating, but no. It's a real issue.
How are you currently addressing this need? How satisfied with the solution?
Currently, I am planning an extra 10 minutes of time to my schedule if I have an exam or important meetings to attend to I can arrive on time and finding parking won't mess with that. I'm not really satisfied with the solution because it can sometimes be inconvenient if I have things back to back around the same time, but at different places.
5) Reflection: When interviewing the 3 potential users, I understood the situation from their point of views. Each person expressed their struggle against finding parking on campus and how they must plan for it in their schedule i.e. when they should leave their home so they can come to campus and have enough time to find parking and make it on time for their meetings or events. There would be some downfalls to it, such as finding funding for these signs and routine maintenance so it functions properly 24/7.
6) Summary: Now, I believe there is about a 50% opportunity for this need to be met. After conducting these interviews, I have realized that this opportunity is needed more but the challenges posed to get these electronic signs are bigger than what I thought. I think it's important for entrepreneurs to adjust according to customer feedback because they will be the ones using the product, but also keep the adjustments within the scope of what your product truly is, down to the originality. The product should meet the needs of the consumers in an efficient and effective way.
Comments
Post a Comment